Lecavalier demoted to fourth line

PHILADELPHIA — Maybe Vinny Lecavalier will actually enjoy his return to center tonight against the Toronto Maple Leafs, even if it will come between fourth-line wingers Adam Hall and Zac Rinaldo.

Maybe Craig Berube’s latest coaching trick, dropping one of the league’s biggest stars of the past 15 years down two lines not only will serve its intended purpose — to put a flame to Lecavalier’s mental game — but also put temporary fourth-line center Michael Raffl right where he belongs. That would be on left wing of the third line, where he should be a huge offensive plus to center Sean Couturier and winger Matt Read.

Maybe this move will even give flight to NHL/AHL bubble winger Tye McGinn, who at least at the start of the Flyers-Maple Leafs game tonight at Wells Fargo Center will be in Lecavalier’s vacated spot on the second line.

Or maybe it’s all a typical hockey coach’s line switch scam, just a threatened move intended to tick off a star player who has been producing up-and-down performances for too long a period of time.

That has been Vinny Lecavalier’s second half of the season. Lecavalier, obviously impacted early in the season by a fractured bone in his back, has mostly played left wing on the second line since returning from that injury.

The usually jovial Lecavalier has talked a lot about how difficult the adjustment to wing was for him this season, but thought he was making progress. He seemed upset today about the surprise line switch, and didn’t seem too interested in discussing it beyond promising to “do my best tonight” to help his team win.

Despite a recent upswing in production, Lecavalier — in the first of a five-year, $22.5 million deal — has only one goal in his last 10 games.

“The last two games were a little bit of a letdown,” said Lecavalier, speaking in general terms about the team. “It seems the energy level wasn’t as good or where it was before that. We know how big every point is right now. We know the Leafs are looking for points as well and that makes it really important tonight.”

Naturally, Berube was rather non-committal about how long the switch would be in place.

“We’ll take it shift by shift right now,” Berube said. “It’s a little bit of everything; I wanted to get Raffl up there with Couturier and I put Vinny back down there (at center).

“That (second) line wasn’t doing what it’s intended to do ... so I made a change.”

Berube had no interest in making a chance of another sort, putting Lecavalier back to second-line center, the position in which he began, and had success with prior to the injury. That spot has been occupied by Brayden Schenn.

Said Berube: “I didn’t want to move Schenner out of that position right now, that’s all.”

Asked if he expected Lecavalier to provide more offense, Berube said, “Yeah, I think he expects more. We all did. I still think he can.”

Second-line stalwart Wayne Simmonds said he didn’t think the move “has anything to do with Vinny.

“We’re just trying to get some wins,” Simmonds said. “We’ve lost two games in a row and the guys have to wake up in here. Everybody’s got to wake up and play better.

“Vinny’s played in this league a long time; obviously he knows how this works,” Simmonds added. “I don’t think it’s really him. It’s our line. We haven’t played the best in the last couple of games and I think it’s just more of a shakeup.”